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Bill Cosby
Overview William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. He starred in shows such as'' I Spy'',and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in what is considered to be one of the decade's defining sitcoms,The Cosby Show '', which aired from 1984 to 1992. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an upper-middle-class African American family. Bill Cosby: "Black Kids Don't Aspire Enough!" During the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Cosby gave a speech that sparked notable criticism. Over the course of his speech he stated that Brown v. Board of Education paved the way for black children to succeed. But he complained that in spite of this, there is still a 50% dropout rate because they do not aspire to succeed, and that it wasn't "the white man's fault". Cosby urged parents to spend more time teaching their children how to read, rather than to spend money on "sneakers". Notable Quotes During the Speechhttp://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/billcosbypoundcakespeech.htm ''Ladies and gentlemen, these people set -- they opened the doors, they gave us the right, and today, ladies and gentlemen, in our cities and public schools we have 50% drop out. —Bill Cosby, who does not seem to realize that despite Brown v. Board allowing black children the legal "right" to be physically capable to set foot in a predominately white school, there are still de facto barriers that prevent racial integration and quality education for African American students. Integration and quality education are usually interrelated, critical factors for children to be college ready. "Looking at the incarcerated, these are not political criminals. These are people going around stealing Coca Cola." '' ''“People getting shot in the back of the head over a piece of pound cake! Then we black community all run out and are outraged: 'The cops shouldn’t have shot him.' What the hell was he doing with the pound cake in his hand?" '' '— Bill Cosby, totally missing the point. The black community does not condone stealing, but hypothetically getting shot in the back of the head over pound cake is excessive police force and abuse of power.' ''"And after they kill somebody, they don't have a plan. Just murder somebody. Boom. Over what? A pizza?"' —Bill Cosby, admonishing black people for hypothetically killing each other over pizza, but not holding the police responsible for hypothetically killing black people over pound cake. '' ''"We have to begin to build in the neighborhood, have restaurants, have cleaners, have pharmacies, have real estate, have medical buildings instead of trying to rob ''them all." ''—Bill Cosby, who does not acknowledge that in order to create infrastructure, blacks will likely need to borrow money to start businesses or to own their own homes. And that typically requires a loan from the bank. But people of color are typically redlined from getting bank loans due to bank discrimination, or they are reverse redlined on the basis of race, and offered predatory loans they are likely to default on due to high interest rates (see: subprime loans). "And these black people are not parenting. They’re buying things for the kid -- $500 sneakers -- for what? They won’t buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics." —''Bill Cosby, who has no statistical support for his claims. According to a government NCES study , African American parents and adults are the most involved in checking children's homework than any other race. According to page 13 of the study, the proportion of black parents who reported their children doing homework outside of school was only 1% less compared whites (94% v. 95%) and 2% lower than Asians. However, because only 82% of whites and 83% of Asians parents that actually reported checking their homework to know this, the figures regarding their children's homework completion is probably lower. Figures of homework completion were consistent (94%) for proportion of parents who actually reported checking the child's homework. Blacks were also more likely to have in the house a location designated in the house (94%) compared to Whites (89%) and Asians (83%)' Bill Cosby Defends Lindsey Lohan, Doesn't Defend Black People. ''"I would like to sit down with the media and say to the media to stop taking advantage of this woman. Stop putting her on T.V. and saying 'Oh this is terrible, she is this!' And you're laughing at someone who obviously has to have help." '— Bill Cosby, white knighting the "defenseless" white damsel in distress. Bill Cosby decided to act as a white knight towards Lindsey Lohan, during 2010 when she was charged with a DUI and posession of cocaine, and faced jail time. The irony is that despite how often African Americans are overrepresented on the news and in the media as criminals, there is no outcry against the media from Bill Cosby. In fact, he blames blacks for their incarceration due to their own low morals and poor parenting, rather than consistently concluding in Lohan's situation; that these are incarcerated black people "who obviously has to have help", (at least assuming they are even guilty). However, it is worth noting that due to corruption in criminal justice, especially with prosecutors, many of these convicted black individuals receive extreme sentences that don't fit the nature of the crime, or they are innocent. Whereas Lindsay Lohan warranted no protection from Cosby, at least given the double standard he holds for colored people. Her sentence to 90 days in prison was directly reflective of her poor morals and confidence that she could cheat the system because she was famous as you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWiQ7i_kC4Y The Cosby Show In 1982 Bill Cosby launched what was considered the decade's staple sitcoms The Cosby Show, which aired eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. The show focuses on the growth and experiences of a black upper middle class family. The patriarch was Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable, an obstetrician with his wife, attorney Clair Hanks Huxtable The Cosby Show had African-American themes, such as the Civil Rights Movement, and it frequently promoted sterilized African-American and African culture icons that were considered "tame" by the dominant society at large, represented by artists and musicians such as Jacob Lawrence, Miles Davis, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Miriam Makeba. However, although the cast and characters were predominantly African-American, the show rarely touched on issues of postmodern racism, nor the issues that afflict inner city families in accordance to that. The show was deliberately sanitized, typically refusing to permit issues that could evoke “negativity” that would affect the show's upbeat image. “This is a conscious policy,” said Crispin Miller,a left culture critic in his 1986 essay titled “Cosby Knows Best,” who went further to note that: “Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard, reads through each script as a ‘consultant,’ censoring any line or bit that might somehow tarnish the show’s ‘positive image.’" Boxed In: The Culture of Television, Northwestern Univ Pr (December 1988), ISBN 978-0810107922 Sources Category:colorism